


Grow As We Go

by cactuslesbian



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: :), Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Canon-Typical The Slaughter Content (The Magnus Archives), Canon-Typical The Spiral Content (The Magnus Archives), Canon-Typical The Stranger Content (The Magnus Archives), Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Fix-It of Sorts, Found Family, Friends to Lovers, Friendship Treated As Seriously As Romance, Headcanon, Lovers to Friends, Multi, eventual georgie barker/melanie king, im so excited about this one lads
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28718523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cactuslesbian/pseuds/cactuslesbian
Summary: It starts with Jon texting her a few weeks after the fact and asking if he can visit the Admiral. Georgie says okay because even though they both agreed that Georgie would get custody if they split, they got admiral together as a kitten and he keeps pacing around the apartment wailing and looking for Jon. It's not fair to rob him of consistency just because he doesn’t understand silly and entirely human things like falling out of love with someone so loudly and painfully that he gathers all his things and leaves without even saying goodbye.or like, the Jon & georgie stay friends after the breakup au that no one asked for but you're getting
Relationships: Georgie Barker/Melanie King, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 4
Kudos: 55





	Grow As We Go

**Author's Note:**

> this is like? half headcanon sheet, half fic so the format is a little weird. I'd love to write this out fully as it deserves but honestly I just can't right now. that being said I might make little snippets and drabbles in this AU & if anyone would like to make content of it as well they are more than welcome to do so. in fact I would offer my undying love, 2$, and a subway coupon to anyone who does tbh.

It starts with Jon texting her a few weeks after the fact and asking if he can visit the Admiral. Georgie okays it because even though they both agreed that georgie would get custody if they split, they got admiral together as a kitten and he keeps pacing around the apartment wailing and looking for Jon. It's not fair to rob him of consistency just because he doesn’t understand silly and entirely human things like falling out of love with someone so loudly and painfully that he gathers all his things and leaves without even saying goodbye. 

Jon visits about twice a month (more or less depending on the kind of stress he's under). And slowly the visits transform into visiting with Georgie as well as the admiral because even though they broke up they do still care about each other, even if it's not that way anymore.

Like. when they eventually look back on the time they dated, they both are able to realize that they were dealing with some Trauma and probably not in a place to have a fulfilling relationship. They’ve grown since then, but have decided that they’re better off platonic.

Jon is and always has been good at being there when Georgie starts to go numb again. He tends to notice early that it's getting bad again and will try to gently anchor her in place so she doesn't slip any further away. 

Later, with him anchoring her to earth and Melanie being able to pull her back, the bad spells become few and far between.

Melanie vaguely knows about Jon. she knows he's Georgie's ex from Uni, she knows he co-parents the admiral, that Georgie likes having him around and that sometimes he’ll send her a text her or tell her an inside joke and she’ll giggle and smile.

(Melanie doesn't know how she feels about that last part other than vaguely jealous, doesn't know why, but it's probably nothing.)

When she meets Jon for the first time he's lying on the ground with the admiral sitting on his chest trying (and failing) to ask him to please get up and let him go get some food. Melanie’s first thought is something along the lines of _"I used to take lunch money from guys like this."_

their first few interactions are awkward as all fuck. Jon is doing his best and so is Melanie (both for Georgie's sake tbh) but eventually they warm up to each other. Their senses of humor are weirdly compatible and they will have debates about ghost stories for hours on end with Georgie occasionally telling Both of them that they’re wrong, actually.

Jon is on a single episode of ghost hunt uk and is a very shane madej like presence there. Melanie bets him 2£ that he wont crawl up into a vent and he just does. absolute madman. The other people on the show are divided about him, but roll w it because Melanie vouched for him. The ghost hunt fans are all over twitter and pre-2012 tumblr doing exactly what u think they are doing wrt a skinny unhinged little British man.

he's guest starred on the ghost for a few episodes!! He has a few wtg shirts that he'll wear on the weekends. Basira, upon meeting him is like "oh my god i Thought you sounded familiar."

When Melanie's father dies, Jon and Georgie basically camp out in her apartment and take care of her in shifts for a solid week. Georgie holds her hair when she cries so hard she pukes, Jon brings take out from her favorite restaurants most nights. they refuse to let her spiral into her grief so instead, they share it with her.

They both only met Finley King once, when Georgie and Jon went to pick him up from Ivy Meadows so they could all have dinner together for Melanie’s birthday one year. He spent the ride talking about how proud he was of her, telling them stories about her growing up, explaining why he always called her little moth. Georgie and Jon knew he thought the world of her and they made sure she knew it. 

she loves them for that.

At some point during the three years that pass, they decide they'll move in together. they're already close and rent is expensive. it's just economical.

Georgie and Melanie meet Tim and Sasha during Jon's research days!! they're invited for game nights tbh. 

They go out for dinner when Jon gets promoted to head archivist. The morning he heads out for that first day, Melanie kisses both his cheeks ( "for luck!" ) and Georgie fusses over his tie. He’s like, “guys it's a lost cause I'm already covered in cat hair”

Jon hears about Sarah Baldwin and what happened at the hospital in their living room and not the archives. It's especially troubling because Sarah has been over before exactly once. granted, that was years ago and even then Sarah was... off, but still. Jon is sure it’d be a fireable offense to look into his friend and roommates horror story, so he keeps researching Sarah and the hospital under wraps, and doesn't even tell Tim or Sasha. He can't turn up anything useful.

honestly, this is when Georgie lowkey tells them both she is not capable of feeling fear. and like? tbh they suspected but weren't sure bc. how do you ask someone that shit naturally??

> melanie vc: were u seriously not freaked out by her??
> 
> georgie vc: no???
> 
> jon vc: for real she was scary. i kept feeling like she was about to unhinge her jaw like a snake-
> 
> georgie: [flatly] Hm,

like they love her but she's a cryptid

Melanie and Georgie meet Martin for the first time when they ambush Jon at work on his birthday. After they leave both are like “wtf you’re so mean to him what did he do to you.” “he let a DOG into the ARCHIVES, >:/” they’re like not enough justification, try again.

Melanie jokingly suggests Jon’s got a bit of a crush when they’re back home and he throws a pillow at her head. Melanie is like “u remember when he thought the pizza guy was cute the first thing out of his mouth was about how he was late, right?” and Georgie just “oh my god you DO think he’s cute!” Jon goes to bed murmuring darkly about betrayal and the admiral being the only one he can trust.

After Martin gets stuck in his apartment for 2 weeks, Jon starts getting worried about the admiral. and also Georgie and Melanie. What if he leads Prentiss back to them? The thought leaves him petrified and guilt-ridden. 

so Jon starts to come home less and less.

Jon will call to check on them and Georgie will ask where he's been. He gives a vague explanation as to why, (he finds out 'working late' is only a good excuse the first few times) but doesn't tell them about Prentiss. He rationalizes that he doesn’t want them to worry, but he’s _scared._ Scared that Georgie and Melanie will believe him, scared that they won’t. Scared that whatever Jane Prentiss is, or whatever she’s hosting will come to the apartment anyway.

He sleeps in document storage and keeps texting Georgie for Admiral pics, Melanie is in the background of most of the phonecalls yelling "TELL JON HE'S BEING A DEADBEAT DAD,"

He talks to Martin about them some nights. when the laptop has been shut off, the archives are dark save for the soft glow of their phones and that one ancient and massive desktop computer that's never worked right and no one can turn off. There are CO2 containers at the foot of their sleeping bags, just in case. Sometimes Martin will get a story about the time Melanie parkoured to the top of the fridge because the admiral brought a live mouse into their home, how Georgie will sometimes exasperatedly tell the admiral he's being "just like his father,".

In a rare moment of vulnerability, he quietly tells Martin that Georgie and Melanie made him feel like a person again, like an active participant in his own life and not a bystander for the first time in years. that he doesn't have to pretend around them, and despite that they still want him around.

Martin says they must miss him and Jon just nods.

Jon eventually asks Martin if anyone is missing him and Martin is quiet. Jon would assume he's asleep, but somehow he knows Martin is just pretending. It makes him realize that he’s never heard Martin talk about other friends aside from work, his family, or anyone really. No one had even _noticed_ his two-week absence.

he makes a point to remember to invite Martin to game night when this whole thing is over.

Melanie actually comes to the institute at some point to tell Jon off for

  1. making the admiral sad
  2. Unnecacarilly worrying them w/ his cryptic bullshit bc No, jon, we're not stupid, we know something is up, and we need more information than "aggressive parasites" and “late nights” communicate with us or i swear to god im gonna-



and that's when prentiss attacks lmao

Sasha goes out and after Tim, Melanie goes after her, and Jon is worried sick for both of them but can’t follow because there’s a big ass cork-screw wound in his leg.

Sasha and Melanie end up going into artifact storage together. Sasha holding a torch with a grip so hard her hands shake with it, and Melanie carrying a fire extinguisher like a sword and shield. Melanie only looks away for what seems like a second before something long and undulating and inhuman goes after Sasha.

Melanie panics and proceeds to hit it with the metal fire extinguisher as hard as she can. And then again. And once more. And a few more times after that just to be safe. She then grabs Sasha's hand and runs.

Melanie isn’t big or particularly strong, but even if she was, she doesn’t think that blunt force trauma would be able to hurt that thing. At least not in any way that would matter. It felt inhuman and like something not of this world. No, she’d managed to stun it at best.

When all is said and done, Jon and Tim are quarantined with worm bites, Melanie has a sprained wrist, and Sasha has long slashes on her arm from where the _thing_ had grabbed her. She’s treated for blood loss and ends up needing about thirty-seven stitches in her arm, though neither she nor Melanie can really describe what had attacked her so viciously. Martin emerges and tells them about Gertrude’s body in the tunnels.

( Sasha is very deeply marked by the stranger after this. she has no way of knowing of course. But sometimes she’ll sit very still and very quiet, or push her hands over her ears, ask if anyone else hears that strange, strange music.)

Jon finally comes home and all is well. The first night he’s out of the hospital Georgie and Melanie will barely let him out of their sight. Melanie holds his hand and Georgie smoothes the hair off his forehead and talks idly about how when he's a little more healed they can start taking care of the scars, maybe get them so they're not as bad. Jon can't forget how much he truly loves and missed them, but the reminder is always nice. Eventually, they all fall asleep on the couch together, Jon's head in Georgie's lap and Georgie's cheek against Melanie's arm under the watchful gaze of the Admiral.

but when he comes back to the institute for the first time after all that, there is a stranger sitting at Rosie's desk. Jon asks if Rosie is sick and if she's coming back in soon.

the not-Rosie smiles and says that _she is_ Rosie and that Jon's joke is a little weird, but then again he's been through something she's sure was very traumatic.

Jon stumbles back, mouth dry, heartbeat in his ears. Martin walks by, greets Rosie the way he does every morning, even exchanging pleasantries about her little windowbox garden, like nothing is wrong. Like this stranger is and always has been Rosie.

**Author's Note:**

> ideally, I will make a chapter for every season of TMA but tbh I'm not,, sure that I can. either way thank you for reading! feel free to catch me on tumblr @ grunkledyke if you have any questions or comments :0c


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